Fight Me On It
by plutoliveson
Summary: a rucas prince/princess au, in which Riley Matthews is the Princess of a small country called Rilestun. In order to eventually ascend the thrown, law states that she must have a husband. With her parents statements of arranged marriage once she hits twenty four, Riley needs a Prince. And she needs one fast.
1. Life's a Ball Game

**Hey, guys, thank you for reading if you do! Please give me all the reviews you want, I am so open to constructive criticism! I do not know how long it will take me to post chapters, because I'm in University and everything, but I will try my best! Thank you, thank you!**

Riley Matthews was a relatively happy young woman. She was poised, elegant, intelligent, always prim and proper, exactly as her family wanted her to be. She would always have her hands folded just so, her ankles crossed just right, tiara expertly secured atop her head. Riley lived a safe life, and that was the way she liked it. She never had to worry about anything other than learning how to run her country.

Well, there was one tiny problem. Riley was the princess of a small country called Rilestun, and she was the eldest child of her parents, the King and Queen, thus making her first in line for the throne, correct? Wrong. There were still laws enacted in the country that refused to allow Riley to assume the throne on her own, which Riley found honestly so barbaric seeing as it was the twenty-first century. But she _had_ to be married in order to become the future Queen, much to her and her mother's dismay. And if Riley did not get married, then the country would be run by her younger brother August, which just did not seem exactly right to anybody, even him. So, the only thing that Riley had to worry about, other than learning to run her country, was to find a man to run it with.

And she tried looking. She really did. At every ball held in the kingdom, there were hundreds of suitors for Riley to choose from, but none ever seemed to really see past the tiara atop her head. She was starting to grow tired of waiting, thinking she may never find anyone at all. Which would be absolutely disastrous to both the country and her self-esteem. Eventually, her best friend, Maya Hart, whom had been her roommate at boarding school when they were younger, got tired of the waiting as well.

"Come on, Riley, these guys aren't all _that_ bad. Maybe if you tried giving a few of them, oh I don't know, more than ten seconds of your time?" She stated on one afternoon as they were hanging around in Riley's room of her home. Palace. Whatever it was. In reply, Riley only scoffed and rolled her eyes at Maya. "Riley, you know it's true. And if you don't find anyone of your choosing soon, you know what's going to happen." She gave Riley a small, sad smile after that statement.

Riley didn't even want to think about what she was trying to mention. She would never understand why she agreed to it in the first place. She and her parents had agreed that if Riley had not married by twenty four, then her parents would pick a suitable man for her. An arranged marriage, essentially. In the twenty first century. Riley had just turned twenty three last month, so time was ticking away from her. "Maya, you don't really think they would do that to me, do you? They never gave up on their love, so why should I have to give up on my chance?" She let out a sigh and flopped backwards onto her bed.

Maya walked over and flopped down next to her. "Why would you ever agree to it, Riles?" She asked, turning her head to face Riley.

"Because it's what they wanted. And I always do what they want, you know that." And it was true. She went to the schools they chose. She learned piano, horseback riding, and archery at their request. She went to every ball they needed her to be at. Riley was the golden girl of the country, never doing wrong, never letting anybody down. She was a model citizen and daughter.

Maya sighed at her, turning her face back to the ceiling. "You have to stop doing everything they want, Riley. You've never done anything fun in your life. Or wrong. You need a little bit more of me in there, come to think of it." When they had met, Maya was a rebellious thirteen year old, who wanted to make both of her parents angry. She was the daughter of a British business mogul and a Hollywood actress. Her parents had divorced when she was younger, and her father was already on to wife number three. Maya's mother meant well when it came to caring for her, but neither of her parents were just ever around, and Maya acted out all throughout her teenage years. Riley was there for all of the most dramatic moments, including, but not limited to: Maya's blue haired days (and then pink…then purple…), the pranks on the Headmaster of their school (cow in every classroom being most notable), and every single one of Maya's tattoos (there were seven, and Riley secretly had one). Maya was everything that Riley wasn't. She was free, wild, and fun. But then again, she didn't have a country to run in the future.

"Well, there's that ball tonight to welcome the Grand Duke of Luxembourg because of some trade that's happening, I guess. We can have fun there!" Riley said this even though she knew that she absolutely would never do anything other than what she always did. She would wear have her hair and makeup done modestly, she would wear a fancy dress, and she would smile and nod and be the perfect, polite princess that everyone expected her to be.

Maya, however, seemed to have a different plan. "Alright, Riles, I'm holding you to it. Now, let's pick out what you're going to wear. No fru-fru dresses this time. I'm thinking bold." She said, as she jumped up from Riley's bed and ran off into her closet.

"This is definitely not going to go well." Riley said, shaking her head, before standing and heading off to find her best friend.

* * *

Maya somehow got Riley to wear a tight, floor length, red dress that had been sent to her by Calvin Klein and eventually had just sat in her closet for years. When her favorite hair stylist appeared, Francois (although Riley really knew his name was Dave), she requested that he stray from her usual style of loose waves falling across her shoulders in favor of pulling her hair away from her face and into a high ponytail. For makeup, she had a simple cat eye and nude lip to balance out how dramatic her dress was.

And Riley had to admit, when she finally looked at herself in the mirror, she felt different. Good different. She no longer looked like the prim and proper princess. She looked…like a powerful one. She even dare thought that she looked kind of hot.

"This was surprisingly a really great idea." She said to Maya, who was sitting at Riley's bay window wearing a black, backless Michael Kors gown.

Through the mirror, she saw Maya roll her eyes and prop her head against her hand. "Gee thanks, Riles." She muttered. "Are you ready, or not? We were definitely supposed to be in the ballroom ten minutes ago."

Riley stole a glance at herself one last time in the mirror. She couldn't believe that she was actually deviating from the usual appearance she had. Her father was definitely going to be unhappy about it, but for once, Riley found herself not caring one bit. She turned around, quickly walking over to her night stand to grab the final touch before walking back to the mirror. She carefully placed her favorite tiara atop her head, making sure it would stay in place. "Ready. Definitely ready." She stated. With that, the duo left the sanctuary of Riley's bedroom to head off for what would typically just be a night of boring small talk and cringe-worthy dancing skills.

When they arrived at the ball, everything went smoothly at first. King Matthews looked incredulously at Riley's appearance upon her arrival, but her mother looked happy, so she knew she wouldn't be in that much trouble. And as the night progressed, Riley had danced with so many men that she had lost count. Tonight, guys seemed more interested in her than ever before, but none of them stuck out in her head, and she found herself needing a small break just to process the night so far in her head. She found Maya dancing with a guy, who Riley believed to be the son of a famous American business tycoon, and told her that she was going to take a small break in her room.

As Riley left the ballroom, she was accidentally run into by a man trying to leave as well. "Oh god, sorry, Princess, sorry." He stated, but continued to keep walking away down the corridor that he ballroom exited into.

"Excuse me!" Riley called after him, and found herself so peeved that she followed him. "Hey!" She called again, which got him to stop and turn to look at her, and she came to the realization that he was the son of the Duke of Luxembourg, the man who the ball was held to honor. Her father had told her to research the family before their arrival, so she could properly make any conversation with them if the time arose.

He looked at her for a moment, cocking his head to one side. "Are you coming?" He eventually asked a second later.

She scoffed. "Where are you going exactly? This ball is being held for your father; aren't you supposed to be in there, supporting him?" She asked, and then folded her arms across her chest.

To this, he just shrugged. "Can't be in there anymore. Had to leave. So, are you coming? I was thinking of heading out to find some better food. Because, no offense, Princess, but the food tonight blew." He turned back around and started to move on his way again of finding an exit.

Riley was beside herself with shock. This man was supposed to be there for his father while he was being honored, and yet he was just leaving. A prince, just up and leaving, probably without even telling someone that he was doing so. This was completely unlike how it was supposed to be. When you're royalty, you're supposed to behave for the good of your family and your country. And here this guy was, going against everything.

"To be honest, Princess, you don't seem like the type who would break any rules." He called before he turned at the end of the corridor and was finally out of her sight. Riley couldn't believe herself, but slowly, she found herself walking after him, and then jogging. When she turned the corner, he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, waiting for her. "Guess I was wrong." He stated with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes, and continued down the new corridor. "You don't know your way out, so I am obviously just coming to your rescue. Once you're out, I'm not coming with you. And please, stop calling me 'Princess,' my name is Riley."

She heard him chuckle, and turned to watch him strolling after her. "Prince Lucas Friar of Luxembourg, ma'am." He stated, tipping an imaginary hat at her. "And I thank you ever so much for saving this damsel in distress."


	2. Royal Highness, Royal Troubles

"Is sarcasm just a part of your persona or what?" Riley asked bluntly. She'd been speaking to Lucas for maybe two minutes, and the sarcasm was dripping from every statement he made. Quite frankly, it was getting rather old.

He simply smiled at her. "Me? Never." Of course that would be his reply. Of course. Riley resisted the eye roll she desperately wanted to let happen.

She found herself wondering how someone that looked so much like an angel could sound so much like an asshole. He was tall, perfectly groomed, in a fitted suit. He looked the picture of a perfect Prince Charming, and she was finding that he was anything but. Yet, Riley had learned all of her life that you cannot judge someone from just your first meeting of them, so she figured she would give him a shot. Something had to have made him this way, there had to be a reason.

But by now, they had already reached the grand staircase that led down to the foyer. Riley stopped at the top of the staircase. "There's your exit, your Royal Highness." She stated blandly, and then turned to head back to the ballroom. Her father would start to question where she was soon.

"You're not coming with me?" She heard him say, causing her to turn to look at him. "Do you ever do anything fun?" He asked, and she found herself wondering how he had so quickly pegged her inability to go against her family's wishes. Was it written across her face or something?

She shrugged and simply stated, "Never." And it was the truth.

"Why is that?" He asked, as he studied her. Truthfully, the only fun things she had ever done were because Maya wanted to do them. Riley liked to keep things simple, so that she could never get in trouble, and thus never get her family in trouble. While Maya dyed her hair crazy colors and rebelled, Riley just watched from a close distance. While her brother rode off on motorcycles with socialites and models, Riley studied and kept to herself. She left all the fun to everyone else she knew. She had a duty to her parents and to her country. She wasn't allowed to mess up. She wasn't allowed to have fun like everyone else. And for the most part, that was okay.

Riley found herself shrugging again. "I'm supposed to be learning how to run a country." She replied, the answer she gave to everyone else, too. And then she smirked, "That entails not escaping parties thrown to honor my family." Sass? Now sass was something she was capable of doing.

That got a smile out of him. "Touché." He then held his hand out to her. "Come on, come with me," He said, nudging his head toward the exit.

To this, she actually did let herself roll her eyes. "Do you pull this act with every princess you meet?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. But for a moment, she did find herself considering his offer. Riley never did anything wrong. Riley never rebelled. Riley never left a party with a random prince that she had just met. Because that would be ridiculous, right?

He smiled wider at her, walking over to her with his hand still outstretched. "Oh no, I only pull this act with the pretty ones." God, could he sound any more entitled? She was about to rip him apart for that comment, until he frowned. "That was the cheesiest thing I have ever said." He said, although it seemed like he was saying it more to himself than her.

Riley actually found herself laughing at his frowning face. "Yes. Indeed, it really was. That was actually honestly gross." As close as he was, Riley was able to study his face in more detail. She could tell that his eyes were the oddest shade of green that she had never seen before. Mesmerizing. A face like this could get away with anything. Every fiber of Riley's being was screaming at her to not go with him. To not fall into the trap. To not do something that would majorly get her in trouble.

Instead, she grabbed his hand.

* * *

They had somehow ended up at a small restaurant that was in the heart of Rilestun. Before they had officially even left the Palace, Lucas' bodyguard had caught up to them. She had expected him to scold Lucas, and bring them both back to the ballroom, but instead, he just led them out to the car. Riley assumed that this must be a typical act of Lucas'.

So, there they were, a dinner for technically three, although Stevens (he was to be called by his last name), wasn't sitting with them. She was picking at the last of her meal, when she looked up to find Lucas staring at her. "What?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

He shrugged, taking a small sip of his wine. "Just trying to figure you out." He said with a small smile. "I honestly was not expecting your company, Princess. What changed your mind?"

She frowned. "Riley. Not Princess." She stated, before pausing hesitantly. "And…I really… I do not know." And then the panic set in. She was going to be in so much trouble. Escaping the palace without telling her guard, or Maya, or her parents. Oh god. What if they sent out a search for her? What if they were freaking out? Oh god, what had she done? "I-I think I need to leave." She stated, before scrambling to get out of her chair and out of the building.

"Wait, woah, Riley, calm down. What is going on?" He asked, alarmed by her abrupt change and movement.

She let out a huff of air, then closed her eyes and clenched her fists. "I should not have come here with you. I should not have left. And I am, quite literally, going to be in royal trouble." How could she have been so stupid? What if she had made her parents worry for no good reason? Why would she even leave with this boy, this boy she barely knew and wasn't even certain if she wanted to know? At that thought, she actually felt badly. She did not know Lucas. He did not deserve any judgement. He deserved the happy Princess Riley Matthews that everyone else received. It was too bad that tears were starting to flood her eyes.

Before she knew it, Lucas had his arm around her, and they were heading out the front entrance of the restaurant. The tears wouldn't stop, and she knew she must've looked completely insane, just bursting into tears like that. Lucas didn't seem to mind, as he opened the door to his car for her, following her in after she climbed in. "Riley," he said, forcing her to look him in the eyes, "I'll take you back right now, okay? I'll explain it all. I'll take all the blame. I promise you won't be in trouble, okay?" There was something so reassuring about hearing the words coming out of his mouth that she felt her breathing start to slow and found herself starting to calm down.

"Okay," she mumbled feebly. Riley absolutely could not believe herself. She was twenty three, for God's sake. She could leave the Palace on her own accord. She could go off on her own without having to report to her parents. She was being ridiculous, acting like she was twelve. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to startle you like that. Or force you to have to deal with any of that." She said with a small laugh.

Lucas smiled back at her. "Hey, I get it," he said, before wiping a stray tear from her cheek, "You want to please your parents. That's alright." Riley nodded, but she was struggling to pay attention to his words, when his face was so close to hers. A face like that should be illegal. There was no way his face was legal. And he just touched her cheek. He just wiped a tear away. God, she really was acting twelve right now, getting all worked up over breaking rules and a pretty boy's face. Could she have been any more ridiculous tonight? In all of her twenty years of living, she had never done anything truly against her normal good ways. And in one night, Lucas Friar had somehow changed her. Even Maya hadn't been able to achieve that. "Riley?" She was snapped out of her thoughts by him asking her name, and she found his green eyes staring questioningly at her.

"Hi." She muttered lamely, as she felt heat rising to her cheeks.

"Hi." He said with a smirk.

* * *

When they arrived back at the Palace, Riley expected there to be a frantic explosion of people running all around searching for her. Instead, it was just as calm as it had been before. Sure, they'd only been gone for about an hour or so, but she expected more than…nothing. She furrowed her brows as she climbed the grand staircase, walking back the way toward the ballroom. She could hear Lucas' and Stevens' steps behind her as she carried on forward.

When she reached the ballroom, she was even more shocked to see that everyone was still inside, still dancing and chatting and laughing the night away. Nobody had even noticed that she was gone. Nobody had sent out the royal guard in a search. Everything was actually okay. "Well, would you look at that?" She heard Lucas say behind her, and she turned to see him smirking again. She swore that people only smirked that much in stories, but this boy sure did it quite often. "Nothing bad happened, Riley," he said softly, causing her to feel silly for all the ruckus that she had caused back at the restaurant and in the car.

She rolled her eyes, shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I cannot believe that nobody noticed that I had even left," she found herself mumbling. All of her life, she felt like she was under the public eye, under constant scrutiny. She felt like wherever she was, whatever she was doing, she was being watched. But for the first time, Riley actually felt invisible. She wasn't certain if that felt good or not.

"Well, I think both Stevens and I certainly noticed your leaving." There was that smirk again. He then held out a hand to her, just like he had done earlier in the evening. "May I have this dance, Princess?" He asked, smiling as she rolled her eyes.

Riley narrowed her eyes at him. "How long are you in the country for, Prince?" She retorted, causing him to give her a questioning stare.

"Actually, my family is staying here, at the palace, while the trades go down. Perhaps a month." He shared, his hand still outreached toward her, his eyes still asking her a silent question. Then, he smiled, "Maybe two, if I'm lucky."

Riley gave a wide smile back, before turning her back to him. "Then you'll just have to wait on that dance," she called over her shoulder, as she moved her way through a crowd of chatting people, stopping once to glance over her shoulder back at him. He was still standing at the entrance of the ballroom, and she could see the smirk on his face from her distance away. She knew that he was going to be trouble for her. She was walking away from him before he got the chance to get to her. She was no longer a young girl who got crushes on pretty boys, with pretty accents, who said pretty words. She shook any thoughts of him from her brain, until she turned a last time to look at him.

He was still where he stood before, staring straight at her. This time their eyes met, and he smiled at her, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest. Riley tried to, but she couldn't stop the smile that crept its way to her face.


	3. Betrothed, Engaged

It had been two weeks since Riley's escape from the ball with Lucas, and she had done her best to avoid him since then. She had the advantage in this case, having grown up in the palace all her life. She knew of all the secret pathways hidden by portraits hung on the wall, and she used those to avoid going anywhere near where he and his family were staying. She only saw him at the nightly dinners, although most of the time, she had an excuse to miss those.

Riley had many duties to her country that she took very seriously. Weekly, she would spend time reading to children at the Quincy Hospital located in central Rilestun. Two nights of the week, she would meet with her three advisors for going over the current events of the country, to always keep Riley updated on its status. Friday afternoons were reserved for brunch and tea with her mother. Saturday nights were spent with Maya, typically a girl's night in. Those nights were some of the only times Riley could find a moment to relax during the week. Her life was a whirlwind of events, one after the other after the other. It was never very often that Riley could find time alone to ever really think about anything. She had her advisors and family to tell her how to feel about nearly everything she was presented with. Maya usually helped her with the rest.

But Lucas Friar? Riley had no idea what to think. Mostly, she found herself thinking _STAY AWAY_. Whether she was thinking that to herself or to Lucas, she wasn't entirely sure. For the most part, it seemed to be working. But then she would find herself thinking about his eyes, the strange shade of green that they were, and how close she had been to him during the car ride back. She then would curse herself for daydreaming. Riley was not allowed to daydream, because hope was her worst enemy. When Riley found herself hoping for something…or someone… she almost never gave up the hope and would end up crushed in the end. Even today, at twenty-three, talking about Pluto could make her throat constrict. So, she squashed any thoughts about him that forced their way into her head. She wasn't going to get her hopes up about someone like him.

Tonight was one of the nights that Riley was unable to avoid dinner plans. It was Sunday evening, and she was unhappily trailing her way toward the biggest dining room in the palace. In the palace, they had three, but they had to use the biggest in order to fit the Friar family and their advisors. The only good thing about this was that it was nearer to Riley's room than the others, so she was able to get in and get out without having to deal with Lucas. As she walked, she smoothed her hands over the black and white dress that she had picked out to wear, making sure her appearance was perfectly presentable. When she was finally just outside the room, she paused and took a deep breath to center herself before pushing one of the doors open.

There was only one person standing within the dining room as she entered, and suddenly, Riley's unpleasant mood changed to one of pure joy. "FARKLE!" She exclaimed, opening her arms wide, as she went running at her old best friend. Farkle Minkus had been friends with both her and Maya for as long as Riley could remember. She'd met them both in the same first year of boarding school. At the time, Farkle was just the son of a prominent U.S. senator, but now he was known all over the world as the President of the United States' only son. She hadn't seen him in the longest time, due to his father's recent election. While in school, she had always been in awe of his intelligence and confidence, and Riley would constantly find herself wanting to be more like him. More outspoken about what she wanted and needed, less caring about the way the world perceived her, more loving of the person that she was. She thought about something Maya had said to her weeks ago about needing to be more like her, but Riley found herself thinking all the time that she needed to be a bit more Farkle. And here he was, in an all-black suit, a little American flag pinned to his lapel.

"Riley," he said as he opened his arms to embrace her. As she hugged him, Riley felt safe and comfortable knowing he was around, if only for a little while. She hadn't realized how much she missed him, but going from seeing him every day at school to only seeing him a few times a year was certainly taking a toll on her. She hoped that he would stay for at least just a week, and she would clear up as much time to spend with him as possible. She loved both of her best friends, but she got to see Maya nearly every day, so seeing Farkle was always something extra special.

"Riley." She heard her name being stated again, but this time she was more wary. She pulled away from Farkle's warm embrace to see Lucas standing in the doorway of the dining room. "And?" He asked, giving a questioning glace at the two.

Farkle beamed, straightening himself, and walking toward Lucas, his hand outstretched. "Farkle Minkus." He stated, to which Lucas shook his hand.

"Lucas Friar." He replied, giving a nod. "Will you be joining us this evening for dinner?" Riley could tell that something was not quite right about the exchange before her, as the two men were still shaking hands, staring each other down. Riley sighed to herself, knowing she was watching an alpha male pissing contest.

Farkle nodded, finally releasing Lucas' hand from his own. "Ah, yes. I am in the country for the week, visiting old friends," he stated, nodding backward toward Riley, who was silently cheering to herself at the fact that she was indeed getting a week with her other best friend. She knew that Maya would be incredibly excited as well when she heard the news. Those two were always a pair of evil geniuses, devising the most intricate pranks on all of their professors and fellow students. She knew that the day they all graduated from that school was the day their headmaster could finally breathe easy. "Riley and I went to school together back in the day," he shared.

Once the three of them had graduated from their high school, as it was known in America, they went their separate ways for the first time in the longest time. Farkle went off to university at Harvard, studying business, where he graduated as the top of his class. Maya interned for Vogue magazine in Paris, eventually becoming an independent designer, putting all of the art in her mind onto clothing. And Riley went to the University of Oxford, where she graduated from with a degree in Law, which she only studied as she knew it would come in handy for her future. Riley was pleased to know that they would all be together again for the week, as it happened so less often now. She sometimes wished that they could all go back to the simplicity of life at boarding school.

"Princess?" She heard Lucas ask, and realized she had been zoning out thinking about the past.

Riley immediately felt the heat rising to her cheeks, and she let out a small smile. "Hi." She responded, meeting his eyes, and she could see the amusement in them.

"Hi," he said, and she watched as the smirk appeared on his face. Always with that smirk. That smirk should be illegal, she swore to herself.

Farkle looked between the two of them before shaking his head. "Hate to interrupt…whatever that was…but we should probably sit before the rest of our company arrives." He shook his head again, heading over to his set place at the long table.

* * *

Throughout the week, Riley found herself feeling the happiest she had felt in a long while. Farkle always knew how to make her laugh and feel comforted. He was just the person Riley needed while her family's palace was being overrun by the Friars. Yet, at the same time, he was increasingly asking questions about the dynamic between her and Lucas. And Riley quite certainly did not have any answers for him, because she honestly had no idea what was going on with them. One minute he was all kind, sweet, prince charming. And the next, that damn smirk would appear on his face, and he'd be sneaking out of the palace to probably go steal eight cars or something like that. She had no idea where he was ever sneaking out to.

One night, Riley couldn't sleep, and she climbed out of her bed to just walk around the palace a few times to tire herself out a little bit. She grabbed a long, pink silk robe to put over her white nightgown and left her room. It was only a little while later when she saw Lucas trying to stealthily sneak his way out of the palace, and she didn't see Stevens anywhere around trailing him. Naturally, Riley decided that she wanted to scare the crap out of him.

"Where do you think you're going, your Royal Highness?" She said flatly, causing him to immediately jump at the sound of her voice.

He turned around, shaking his head at her. "There is just no fun in revealing secrets, now is there?"

She frowned, shuffling her way toward him. "Look, I honestly do not care in the slightest as to where you are going, but why do you consistently feel the need to disobey your parents?" She asked, folded her arms across her chest. It was strange, but Riley sort of actually admired the fact that he was able to disobey them. But she also really was intrigued as to why he seemed to do it all the time. While she'd been avoiding him, she'd done more research and found that he was a supreme troublemaker. He'd gotten into fights with royal ambassador's sons. He'd gotten kicked out of three boarding schools. She also tried to ignore the way her heart swelled a little when she couldn't find much at all about his love life, though. She then tried to squash that feeling immediately.

"Why do you care, Princess?" He asked, and his signature smirk appeared, along with an eyebrow raise.

Riley huffed out a sigh. "I don't." She did. She wanted to figure him out. But she would never admit that to his smug face.

"Well, then you won't mind if I move along on my way, yes?"

She narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. "No, you should probably go. God forbid you not sneak away from here and commit some form of criminal act," she stated as she turned on her heels, turning her back to him and walking away.

She hadn't made it three feet before she felt her arm being grabbed, and she was then face to face with Lucas. "Seriously? You think I leave and just commit crimes? You don't know me at all, Princess," he stated, and she could hear the agitation in his voice, "Do you always judge people based on what other people say about them?"

Riley tugged her arm out of his grasp, throwing an annoyed glance his way. "Well, you have an outstanding reputation, Lucas. When so many people say one thing, how can I not believe it?" She said the words, but immediately regretted them when she saw the look of defeat on his face. Her face softened, and she reached her hand out to touch his arm. "Prove them wrong. Prove me wrong."

She almost wasn't able to register what happened next. One second, they were at least a foot away from each other. The next, he was holding her face in his hands, leaning in. He planted a small, quick kiss on her lips, before leaning slightly away, staring into her eyes and whispering, "I think I'm going to do just that." He then moved away from her, turning and walking back the way he was going, leaving Riley standing alone in the hallway wondering what the hell had just happened. She touched her hand to her lips, silently cursing herself as her heart fluttered.

* * *

Riley certainly couldn't sleep after the event that just occurred, and she soon found herself making her way down to the kitchen. When she arrived, she was surprised to find her father sitting at a counter, eating some ice cream from its container. He smiled when he saw her, gesturing for her to come join him. She grabbed a spoon from a drawer and pulled up a chair next to her father.

"How you doin'?" He asked, nudging her shoulder with his.

She smiled, digging her spoon into the ice cream container. "Same old, same old." She mumbled, but she knew that was anything but the case. She wasn't about to just come out and tell her father about the weird moment with Lucas in the hallway though. He would probably go hunt him down. "How about you, dad?"

He shrugged, and Riley found herself thinking about just how tired her father looked. Running a country was taking its toll on him, and she could see it in his face. "I'm just ready for this deal to be complete, Riles. Negotiations are at a stand-still right now." She only nodded along to his words, as she hadn't truly been paying attention to anything happening with the Friars. "And there's going to be a big dinner party tomorrow, to celebrate their son's birthday. Did I tell you about that yet?" Lucas's birthday? No, that was certainly news to her. She shook her head, and her father simply shrugged. "Sorry, honey. I hadn't really known anything about it, either. Apparently, the Prince's betrothed had planned it to happen in Luxembourg, but the family is here, so we'll just accommodate it."

Riley nearly choked on a spoonful of ice cream when she heard those words come out of her father's mouth. "His betrothed?" Lucas. Lucas the man who had just kissed her in the hallway. Betrothed. Engaged. To be married. To someone else. Her heart shrunk quicker than ever.

Her father simply nodded, not knowing how much his daughter's heart had just started to hurt. "Oh yes. Have you met her? Her name is Missy," he stated, accidentally twisting the dagger in Riley's heart further.

Her mind was reeling. _His betrothed._ Engaged. To be married.

 _Her name is Missy._

Betrothed.


	4. Little Princesses

**Hello, everyone! Sorry for the time it took me to update. University has been kicking my butt! Thank you for all of the reviews, I appreciate every one of them; I always get so excited to see a new review! Thank you thank you for reading!**

The next morning, Riley needed to escape. Her mind was so completely flustered with the past day's events that she just needed some time to escape her surroundings and not think about any of her personal issues. Whenever she felt like this, she knew exactly where she needed to go. So, at around eight in the morning, Riley pulled on some simple jeans, threw on a cream colored sweater, and put on simple brown boots. She threw her hair into a quick bun before finding her driver to leave.

She arrived at Quincy Hospital nearing around nine o'clock, and she immediately checked in with the hospital director to ensure that her visit was okay, even though they never minded. On days when Riley's world felt like too much, she liked to come read to the children at the hospital, or sing with them, or play with them. She loved to do anything that could make them feel even the slightest bit better. Riley's problems never seemed so bad when she was sitting and reading to a child, a child whose world had barely started and yet they were fighting just to stay in it. She hadn't been to the hospital for about a week now, because her schedule had just been so full lately, so she was glad to be able to make time to appear.

After she had checked in, she entered the elevators on the main floor, and hit the button of the floor for the pediatric unit. From there on out, she spent what felt like a whole lifetime just playing and reading and singing and dancing and coloring with the children in their designated play room. It always excited Riley to see when there was progress in some of the children. She loved to see their smiles become brighter, their eyes more alive. Riley loved all of the people of her country, but the children in the hospital held her heart the most.

Riley had just finished helping a little girl to create her own personal crown when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. When she looked at the phone, the number was unknown, and she felt her happiness falling slightly, knowing just who it was going to be.

"Hello?" She answered, after hitting the button on her phone to accept the call.

On the other end of the line, she heard an exasperated sigh. "Princess. It's Lucas. Friar. Uh, it's me. Hi. I need to speak with you," he rushed out.

Riley excused herself from the playroom, much to the dismay of the newly crowned little girl, and she found a chair in a close hallway. "You are speaking with me, Lucas." She replied, because she just couldn't help it.

She heard a short laugh on the other end, and she imagined the eye roll that probably accompanied it. "Funny, Princess," he said, and then sighed again. "Your father said that he mentioned the party tonight to you."

Riley immediately felt her cheeks flush. She was trying to run from her problems by coming to one of her favorite places, and now her problems were personally chasing her down. "Um. Yes. A party thrown by your fiancé, Lucas," she stated, and then felt the anger bubbling in her mind. "Do you think it's okay to just kiss someone when they don't know you're engaged?!" She was trying to be quiet for fear of being overheard, but she couldn't help it as her voice rose as her anger did.

"Riley, no, I wouldn't do that. I'm not—," He paused, and when he didn't continue, Riley rolled her eyes to herself.

"You're not what, Lucas?"

She heard him sigh again. "My parents have controlled my entire life, Riley. I have no say in anything they wish for me to do. _They_ arranged for me to be married to a Princess named Missy when I was only twelve years old, because of a family agreement between my parents and hers. I had no say in the matter; I was just twelve! I've tried numerous times to fight it, but they keep insisting I eventually marry her. But as far as I am concerned, I'm not betrothed to anybody. Not unless I want to be," He paused for a minute, "and I am sorry I didn't tell you any of this. I didn't…I didn't expect to like you."

Riley sighed to herself, as she rested her chin on her hand. "That's a lot to take in." She muttered, and for the most part, all of her anger had depleted. He was just like her.

"Can I talk to you? In person? It'd be easier." He asked, and she mulled it over for a moment.

"No, Lucas, not right now, because I am a little bit preoccupied. But there is something we can do now." She mentioned to him where she was, and gave him directions to give to Stevens once he agreed to join her.

* * *

"Why, Prince Lucas, don't you look like ever the gentleman?" Riley stated, as she found Lucas leading a tea party around a tiny table for three little girls, who sat around him, smiling and giggling away. They had feather boas around their necks and crowns on their heads, as did Lucas. It was a site that Riley thoroughly enjoyed laughing at.

He shrugged, smiling up at her from his chair that was definitely too small for him. "You're interrupting afternoon tea gossip, Riley," he said with a fake stern look. The little girls nodded their heads at his statement.

Riley feigned a shocked expression, as she stepped away slightly. "I apologize ever so dearly to all of you, Your Highnesses." She stated with a smile as she then headed over to the bookcase near them in order to pick out a new book to read to one of her favorite children in the hospital, Lily, who liked to read about fairytales with Riley.

She was deciding over whether or not to read a tale about the Light Princess or one about the Flower Queen's Daughter, when she overheard an eruption of giggles from the tea table.

"What's so funny, my little Princesses?" She heard Lucas ask, and she looked over to see him smiling down at them, shaking his head slightly.

The little girls giggled again. "You were staring at the Princess! Do you liiiiiiiike her?" One of the girls asked, and Riley's eyes met with Lucas' as he looked over at her.

He leaned down to the little girl who asked the question. "What do you think?" He asked quietly.

All of the little girls nodded fervently. "Does she know that you like her? Are you going to marry her? She's the most beautiful Princess that ever lived. Are you going to have babies?" One of them whispered, her little eyes bright and excited.

Riley watched as Lucas erupted into laughter at her questions. She shook her head and grabbed The Flower Queen's Daughter from the shelf, making her way away from the giggles at the table behind her.

* * *

 **This chapter is shorter than I would've loved it to be, but I really wanted to get something up, and my little nursing student brain is still stuck in hospital thoughts, so this appeared in my head! It's fluffy, I know. The next chapter will be the big party for Lucas' birthday, thrown by his family and his arranged fiance. I promise it'll be longer! Thank you thank you for reading!**


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